A77 Gloster Meteor
On 15 May 1941, the experimental Gloster E28/39 made the first flight by a British jet-propelled aircraft, and, on 5 March 1943, the Gloster Meteor became the Royal Air Force's first operational jet aircraft. Meteor F Is and F IIIs were the only Allied jets to see action in World War II. For over a decade, Meteor F 4s and F 8s were the main RAF interceptors, and other versions included the Meteor T 7, FR 9, PR 10, and Armstrong-Whitworth Meteors NF 11 to 14.
In 1946 a Meteor captured Australian newspaper headlines when it flew over Melbourne at 788 km/h (490 mph). Imported on 7 June 1946, this Meteor F 4 carried out trials at Laverton and Darwin and, at one time, carried two identification numbers - the RAF serial EE427 and the RAAF allocation A77-1. However, it was not until 1951, when Meteors went into action with No 77 Squadron in Korea, that these aircraft made their mark in RAAF history.
Ninety-three Meteor F 8s and six Meteor T 7s were allocated to the Korean War with scattered serial numbers ranging between A77-2 (T 7) and A77-982 (F 8). They were used mainly in the ground-attack role, but also accounted for three MIG-15s. Forty-one F 8s and three T 7s returned to Australia aboard HMAS Vengeance, and by 1958 most Meteors had been replaced by CAC Sabres.
The remaining Meteors served with Citizen's Air Force squadrons until the RAAF "officially" retired the Meteor in 1963. However, Meteors with RAAF and RAF serials continued to fly on Ministry of Supply trials at Edinburgh and Woomera, and included F 4s, T 7s, F 8s, U Mk 15 and 16, U Mk 21 and 21A, and NF 11s (including A77-3).
TECHNICAL DATA: Gloster Meteor F 8
DESCRIPTION:
Single-seat interceptor and ground-attack fighter. All-metal, stressed-skin construction.
POWER PLANT:
Two 1633 kg (3600 lb) thrust Rolls-Royce Derwent 8 turbojets.
DIMENSIONS:
Span 11.33 m (37 ft 2 in); length 13.59 m (44 ft 7 in); height 3.96 m (13 ft 10 in).
WEIGHTS:
Empty 4853 kg (10 700 lb); loaded, with ventral drop tanks, 8864 kg (19 100 lb).
PERFORMANCE:
Max speed 962 km/h (519 kt); Cruising speed 666 km/h (360 kt); Initial climb 2134 m (7000 ft)/min; Range 1234 km (666nm); Service ceiling 44,000 ft (13 411 m).
ARMAMENT:
Four 20-mm guns; eight 27 kg (60 lb) rockets or 454 kg (1000lb) bomb load.
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